Saini: Difference between revisions

ਜਾਣਹੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਨ ਪੂਛਹੁ ਜਾਤੀ ਆਗੈ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਹੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ (ਪੰਨਾ 349, ਸਤਰ 13, Nanak) Sikhism does not endorse caste based distinctions in society that lead to unequal opportunities for some people. In fact, Sikhism completely rejects class or race based distinctions between humans, that leads us to make an inequitable society. Such distinctions have surfaced only due to ill interests of certain section of people, who, on the pretext of making a society more manageable through these classifications, eventually paved the way to an unequal grouping within the human race. This article is just for information purpose and to share how people from different castes came into the Sikh fold. So, please treat this article as a source of general information about this issue and kindly do not amend this article to highlight this important underlying Sikh principle. If you have any comments, please discuss them appropriately here

History

Saini is a prominent caste of India.

The term Saini is derived from Sini, a character in the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Sini was a kinsman of Vasudeva, the father of Sri Krishna. When Devaki, the mother of Krishna, was a maiden, many princes competed for her hand. In the end, there was a great battle between two princes of different families over it: Somadatta and Sini. Sini won, and on behalf of Vasudeva he placed Devaki in his chariot and took her away.

Since that incident there was a feud between the two clans, the Sini family and that of Somadatta.

The rivalry came to the fore one last time on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where Sini's grandson, Satyaki, who was a peer and friend of Arjuna and a famed archer, clashed with Bhurisravas, Somadatta's son, who was on the Kaurava side, resulting in the slaying of Bhurisravas by Satyaki.

Sainis claim descent from Sini or Rajan Saini and Satyaki (who founded the Saini Vansha of the Sura-Sena, which is one of the eleven Vanshas of Krishna).

Historically, the term Shoorsaini is as old as the history of India. Etymologically, the Hindi word “Shoor ” means displayer of gallantry and Saini is a generic name for the ruling dynasty that ruled Northern India from Mathura to Patiala. Their rule and governance was so benevolent that the area they ruled directly came to be known as “Shoorsaini Pradesh” and the language they spoke was known as “Shoorsaini”.

Colonel James Todd, who is reputed for writing the authentic history of Rajasthan, has given a very authentic and vivid account of this illustrious race of ancient India. Mahapandit Rahul Sanakrityayan in his famous book Singh Senapati,informs about Draupadi being a daughter of the Shoorsaini dynasty, and that even Krishna belonged to this race. In the Mahabharata, Satyaki is the leader of the Shoorsainis and is famous for his bravery.

Kansa

In this dynasty, was born the first major king of Northern India, Kansa. By virtue of his might, he declared himself as the first king of Mathura. Acknowledging his superiority, the famous king Jarasandha of Magadha, who had established his lordship in the eastern region of India by subduing many independent kingdoms, offered his two daughters in marriage to Kansa. Thus, the first empire of pre-historic or Proto-history India was established by Kansa, the scion of Shoorsaini dynasty. Kansa performed the famous Ashwamedha Yagna and set his horse moving and his armies followed the horse under his personal command and was away for twelve years from the capital “Shoorpur” in the city of Mathura. The site of capital city of king Kansa had been discovered by Colonel James Todd, the author of the Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan.

In the Mahabharata's 18th Parva ("Chapter"), the sons of king Kansa are mentioned to be alive. Moreover even after the killing of Kansa the kingdom was given back to his father, Ugrasena who ruled Mathura. Mathura still abounds in the remains and relics of king Kansa. In the city of Jhajjar (Haryana), there live about 150-200 families who trace their descent from Kansa.

Porus

Porus or Puru, the son of king Chandra Sen, was the last Shoorsaini king. He was the overlord of the fertile area of the Punjab between the rivers Jhelum and Beas. Porus is also termed in history as the 'Lord of the Mountains.' His bravery and gallantry has become an embodiment of Indian heroism . Prof. P.D.Oak rather argues and advocates and has tried to prove in his book – “Blunders of Indian History” – (Bhartiya Itihas ki Bhari Bhulein), that in the war with Alexander the Great, Porus had in fact won and Alexander had been defeated. That is why Porus did not allow Alexander to return by the route he arrived. Alexander had to carve out a new path for his return. Prof. Oak has tried his best and has dished out very powerful and convincing arguments.

The most shrewd politician of ancient India – Chanakya (Kautilya), the architect of the Mauryan Empire heavily depended on the military help of Porus to groom and raise Chandragupta as the future ruler of Patliputra. Chanakya's plan was based on the military might of Porus and they agreed to partition the Empire into equal halves. Porus sent his son as the commander of his army to pursue the task of ousting the Nanda ruler of Patliputra. It was the fearful might of Porus' forces that scared Nanda’s army and Chanakya was successful in besieging the city and securing a victory. But as was the temprament of Chanakya, he betrayed the son of Porus and got him treacherously assassinated. The brave Shoorsaini, true to his royal lineage fell victim to Brahamanical intrigues and evil design.

An interesting aspect to note here is that in addition to the Sainis, three other groups of the Punjab claim king Porus to be one of their own. These include Janjua Rajputs, Kukhran Khatris and Mohyal Brahmins of the Vaid clan.

The Kushans

After the fall of Porus and his sons, this dynasty was lost to oblivion for about two thousand years. A new barbaric tribe of Central Asia, the Kushans crossed the Indus and established their rule in India. The Kushans killed every son and daughter of the ruling family. As a result, the dynasty faded into oblivion.

Medieval India

In Medieval India, the word "Shoorsaini" got shortened to "Saini". Banveer, the son of Queen Sheetla Saini ruled as the Rana of Mewar, from Chittor for eight years till the consecration of Udai Singh as Rana.

The British Period

During the revolt of 1857, the Sainis of Kurukshetra and the Rors of Karnal heroically, fought the British.

The principalites of Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh as well as Jagadhri, Kirada and Hansi in Haryana are Saini strongholds.The Sakyas of Nepal (amongst whom the Buddha was born and the Reddys of Andhra Pradesh trace their origin to the ruling Shoorsaini elite of Northern India.

Modern Saini warriors (only decorated Saini armymen and policemen)

The awards list given below is not exhaustive. Not all Sainis use their clan or sub clan names and go by the last names such as 'Chaudhry', 'Singh', 'Kumar', etc. Since these names are shared by many other groups (some of which overlap Sainis) such as Sikhs, Jats, Dogras and Rajputs etc , it is not possible to isolate Sainis among them just by their last names. The following list pertains only to those decorated armymen and policemen who are confirmed to be Sainis. The actual list of decorated Saini army and police personnel might be much longer. More quality research is needed in this reference.

The following list only contains only those armymen and policemen who won have major wartime and peacetime awards. The list of Sainis in Indian Army is very large and needs no inclusion here. Army and police have traditionally been major sources of employment for Sainis. British had classified Sainis as a 'martial race'.

Another fact that needs to be born in mind is comparison of Sainis with Dogras , Pushtuns, Jats and Rajputs is not an apples to apples comparison. Sainis are merely a sub tribe of Yaduvanshi Kshatriyas (or Jadon Rajputs) who took to agriculture in Punjab and spun-off with a distinct identity local predominantly to Punjab and bordering region. Their numbers are relatively very small compared with these groups. The best way to gauge proportionate Saini contribution to feats of gallantry in armed forces would be by comparing them individually with other Rajput sub tribes such as Bhati, Chauhan, Sisodia, etc rather than Rajputs, Jats , or Dogras as integrated groups which are extremely large and heterogeneous when compared to Sainis.

Known Gallantry Awards

• 1 Param Vir Chakra
• 1 Vir Chakra
• 2 Shaurya Chakras
• 1 Purple Heart (US Army)
• 1 Bronze Star (US Army)
• 8 Sena Medals

Note: In addition to these Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque was the first personnel of Indian Airforce to win a gallantry award as part of Royal Indian Airforce. The Chakra class of gallantry awards did not yet exist as Taunque won this award in 1938 during World War II before the independence of India.

Known Meritorious Service Awards

• 2 Param Vishisht Seva Medal
• 1 Ati Vishist Seva Medal
• 3 Vishisht Seva Medals

Decorated Saini armymen and paramilitary personnel

Order of names given below is as per the rank held at the time of retirement or martyrdom of each soldier.

• Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh Banga (Param Vishisht Seva Medal)^[1]

• Lt Gen Ashok Kumar Saini (Param Vishisht Seva Medal)[1]

• Brigadier Ram Prakash Saini (Vishisht Seva Medal) [2]

• Group Captain S S Banga (Vishisht Seva Medal)^[2]

• Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque (first IAF personnel ever to be decorated for gallantry)^[3][4]

Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque, then Hawai Sepoy 1st Class, became the first ever personnel of Indian Airforce (then Royal Indian Airforce) to win a gallantry award for "Operations in Waziristan 1937-38". Flt.Lt. Peter Haynes and Hawai Sepoy 1st Class Kartar Singh Taunque (later Wing Commander), as the air gunner / bombardier, conducted a daring bombing raid in Waziristan during the World War II operations.

Peter Haynes and Kartar Singh Taunque were flying Wapiti II Army Co-operation biplane during this sortie. Peter Haynes flew steady at a constant altitude as Taunque conducted precesion bombing using 112-lb RL bombs and Mk.IX bomb sight. This daring bombing sortie required tremedous courage and presence of mind on the part of Taunque for calculating terminal velocity, feeding speed and heading on the compass on-the-fly, and releasing 112-1b RL bombs at the enemy targets over the Pir of Ipi's fortress with pin-point accuracy and devastating impact. Later Kartar Singh also served in Mesopotamia.

Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque was the grandfather of Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque who won the Purple Heart and Bronze Star posthumously for showing gallantry in Iraq in 2003 as part of the US army^[5].

• Wing Commander Krishan Kant Saini ( 1962 War Hero, Vir Chakra, Vayu Sena Medal & Ati Vishist Seva Medal)

Wing Commander Krishan Kant Saini, Flight Lieutenant in 1962, had been operating in NEFA area since October, 1960. On 18th November, 1962, he , along with his co-pilot was evacuating seriously injured battle casualties in Walong area. He was instructed to land at a helipad close to the enemy line which was reported to be clear of enemy troops. When he was over the helipad, Chinese troops opened fire from many directions. His helicopter was hit at several places; the main reducter was damaged and oil from it gushed out in a thick spray which blinded him temporarily. His right ankle was also injured by a splinter and he was bleeding profusely. With great determination, presence of mind and skill, he dived the helicopter almost to ground level in order to avoid further damage from enemy fire. He thus saved the helicopter and the lives of his co-pilot and passengers. In spite of the damaged hydraulic system and the personal injury, he skillfully brought the aircraft back to base.

Flight Lieutenant Saini displayed courage, determination and professional skill of a high order.^[6][7]

• Wing Commander Girish Saini (Vayu Sena Medal)[3]

• Squadron Leader Devinder Singh Saini (Shaurya Chakra & Vayu Sena Medal) ^[8] [4]

• Col Satinder Kumar Saini ( Vishisht Seva Medal) ^[9]

• Major Harminderpal Singh Saini (Posthumous Shaurya Chakra) [5][6]

On 13 April 1999, Major Singh fearlessly led his column from upfront, setting a personal example for his command to emulate. He made the supreme sacrifice of his life while fighting the Pakistani ISI sponsored proxy war and safe guarding the integrity of India. His mortal remains, draped in the tri-colour of the Indian flag, were sent to his village in (Mundi Kharar) Ropar (the vicinity of which Anandpur Sahib is located) on 14 April 1999 where he was cremated with honours reserved for the bravest.

Major Harminder had been wounded in the left arm but managed to engage three militants armed with Kalashnikovs and grenades in an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter in a remote north Kashmir village on April 13.

The 18 Grenadiers Major was shot through the temple by the third militant but not before he had gunned down two of them. Harminder led the commando platoon of his battalion in what has been described as a "dare-devil" operation in a congested locality of Sadurkotbala village in Manasbal.

Major Harminder Pal Singh was honoured with the Shaurya Chakra, for his exceptional gallantry and devotion to duty, posthumously.

• Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria (Posthumous Param Vir Chakra)[7]

On 5 December 1961, 3/1 Gorkha Rifles was ordered to clear a roadblock established by the gendarmerie at a strategic roundabout at Elizabethville , Katanga . The plan was that one company with 2 Swedish armoured cars would attack the position frontally and Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria with two sections of Gorkhas and two Swedish armoured personnel carriers would advance towars this roadblock from the airfield to act as a cutting-off force.

Captain Salaria with his small force arrived at a distance of Template:Convert from the roadblock at approximately 1312 hours on 5 December 1961 and came under heavy automatic and small-arms fire from an undetected enemy position dug in on his right flank. The enemy also had two armoured cars and about 90 men opposing Captain Salaria's small force.

Captain Salaria appreciating that he had run into a subsidiary roadblock and ambush and that this enemy force might reinforce the strategic roundabout and thus jeopardize the main operation, decided to remove this opposition. He led a charge with bayonets, khukris, and grenades supported by a rocket launcher. In this gallant engagement, Captain Salaria killed 40 of the enemy and knocked out the two armoured cars. This unexpected bold action completely demoralized the enemy who fled despite their numerical superiority and protected positions.

Captain Salaria was wounded in his neck by a burst of automatic fire but continued to fight until he collapsed due ot profuse bleeding. Captain Salaria's gallant action prevented any enemy movement of the enemy force towards the main battle scene and thus contributed very largely to the success of the main battalion's action at the roundabout and prevented the encirclement of UN Headquarters in Elizabethville. Captain Salaria subsequently died of his wounds.

Captain Salaira's personal example, utter disregard for personal safety and dauntless leadership inspired his small but gallant force of sixteen Gorkhas to hold on to their position, dominate the enemy and to inflict heavy casualties despite the enemy's superiority in numbers and tactical position.

Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria's leadership, courage, and unflinching devotion to duty and disregard for personal safety were in the best traditions of our Army.

• Capt SK Saini (Sena Medal for Gallantry) ^[10]

• Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque (Winner of Purple Heart & Bronze Star[8] , American War Hero)

Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque was born in Jaipur, India on 23rd April 1982. He stayed with his parents at various military stations till 1994. Then he moved to his paternal grand parents home in Chandigarh.There he enrolled in St Stephen's School. In 1995, Uday's parents and sister also moved to Chandigarh. Uday, on leaving school in Chandigarh in June 2000, left for the US with his father and sister and decided to join the US Army. Uday enlisted in the army on 28 August 2000 and on termination of initial training at Fort Knox was assigned to Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 34 Armor Regiment, based at Fort Riley, Kansas, USA.

Uday's unit was deployed to Iraq in September 2003. On, 1 December 2003, Uday was in the lead Humvee of his platoon as a gunner while out on reconnaissance in Habbaniyah, when the platoon came under fire. Uday was the first to fire back and kept the insurgents pinned down till such time reinforcements could arrive. However, in the continuing fire fight he was hit with a gunshot to his head, and could not survive and died on the way to the hospital. He had suffered grievous injury. This action had led to the capture of a number of terrorists and large cache of weapons. Uday was awarded with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

Uday's ashes are buried at The Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington (near Washington D.C.) Section 60 Gravesite No 8122. Also, a memorial for perpetuating his memory is established and will be completed shortly at his home in Chandigarh (1550, Sec 18-D). This courageous and brave boy has touched many hearts across two nations and not only brought honour to the family but to all who knew him and the army that he loved so dearly.

Illinois General Assembly also paid homage to Sereant Uday's bravery and martyrdom by passing a Senate Resolution.^[11] [9]It is also noteworthy that Sergeant Uday came from a distinguished militay family and his grandfather , Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque, was the first ever personnel of Indian Airforce, then Royal Indian Airforce, to win a gallantry award for Operations in Waziristan during World War II. ^[3]

• Lt. Ravinder Saini (Sena Medal for Gallantry) [10]
• Sgt. HS Saini (Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry) [11]
• Naib Subedar Gopal Singh Saini (Sena Medal for Gallantry) [12]
• Naik Janak Raj Saini (Sena Medal for Gallantry) [13]

Decorated Saini policemen

Gallantry medal is the most prestigious award for any police officer in the country. It is awarded for displaying conspicuous gallantry, courage and devotion to duty of very high order. The police officer keeps the duty before self in completing the task. This award is rare in itself as the action should match the risk involved on the occasion. The senior controlling officer assessing the task performed by the subordinate recommends to the head of the police department for award of gallantry medal.

• Director General of Police(DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, IPS ( Gallantry Award ,1987, Punjab Police )[14]
• Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Dr. Kamal Saini, IPS, (Gallantry Award, Jammu and Kashmir Police) [15]^[12]
• Supdt. of Police (SP) Hari Ram Banga, ( Gallantry Award ,1991, Punjab Police)[16]

Geographic distribution

Mainly Punjab and contiguous regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.

Religion

Though majority of Sainis are Hindu. But with the rise of Sikhism in the fifteenth century, many Sainis converted to the faith so that there is a substantial Sikh Saini population today especially in Punjab and its neighbouring states.

Distinction

The word "Saini" is distinct from the similar-sounding Sahni/Sawhney. Like Saini, Sahni/Sawhney is also a Punjabi clan. However, Sahnis/Sawhneys are a Kukhran Khatri community originating from the town of Bhera in Rawalpindi in Punjab (Pakistan).

Saini Clans

Punjab and Haryana

Sainis are known by the following surnames in Punjab and Haryana, India

A

B

C

D

F

• Fararr

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

• Oghra

P

R

S

T

U

• Ughra

V